Golden Eagles Drop 42-17 Decision At 13 Th Ranked Ithaca

Walther notches sixth straight double digit tackle performance

BROCKPORT, NY— John Walther ( Dansville, NY/Dansville) registered his sixth consecutive game with at least 10 tackles, but the SUNY Brockport football team (2-3; 2-1 ACFC) dropped a 42-17 decision to 13 th ranked Ithaca College (4-0) this afternoon at Butterfield Stadium.

Entering the game, Brockport had posted a 4-2 record against the Bombers in the last six years, including last year’s 21-20 victory in Special Olympics Stadium.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Golden Eagles took a 7-0 lead with 10:15 left in the half, when quarterback A.J. Covella (Rochester, NY/Spencerport) connected with Mike Mahoney (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) from 10-yards out for the touchdown.

Ithaca responded with a four-yard touchdown run by Jamie Donovan to knot the score at 7-7.

SUNY Brockport regained the lead, 10-7, with 1:25 remaining in the half on a 28 yard field goal from Adam Lanctot (Pittsford/Pittsford Mendon), but Ithaca took the lead for good less than a minute later when Josh Felicetti fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Dan Ross.

The Bombers pushed their lead to 21-10 in the third quarter, when Felicetti tossed his second touchdown pass of the game to Justin Esposito from 20-yards out.

A five-yard touchdown plunge by Brian Wise (Newfane, NY/Newfane) capped a 15-play, 80-yard drive, to pull Brockport to within 21-17, but the Golden Eagles could come no closer, as Ithaca scored three consecutive touchdowns, including an 85-yard interception return by Tom Blumenauer to seal the victory.

Covella paced the Golden Eagles offensively, rushing for a team-high 65 yards on 16 carries, and connecting on 24 of his 34 passing attempts for one touchdown and two interceptions. Wise churned out 163 All-purpose yards, with 36 rushing yards, 34 receiving yards, and 93 yards on kick returns. Mahoney made four catches for 29 yards. Walther recorded a team-best 11 tackles, while Joe Pereira ( Rochester, NY/ Greece Athena) made 10 stops.

The SUNY Brockport football team will be back in action next Saturday at St. John Fisher, with a 7 p.m. kickoff time.